How To Play Crokinole

Crokinole is a game played on a wooden board with discs that are about checker size.  It is thought to have originated in Canada around 1876.  It is usually played with two people but can also be played with two teams of two players.  A game takes about 30 minutes to play.

Crokinole boards are round, about 27 - 30 inches.   The board itself looks similar to a bulls-eye with three rings and a center hole.  The center hole is worth 20 points, the outer circle 5 points, the middle circle is 10 and innermost circle is worth 15. This innermost circle has eight pegs placed around it to make it more difficult to get a disc in the center hole. The outermost circle is divided into four quadrants and the board has a "ditch" or "gutter" around the edge.

The rules of the game are relatively easy.  Each player or team chooses a color and players take turns shooting a disc.  Game play proceeds in a clockwise fashion.  The board must remain stationary during the game and each player may only touch it when it is his turn.

To start play, and on each turn, a player places a disc in the quadrant of the outer circle in front of him with the disc touching any part of the starting line but not more than halfway over it. He then shoots a disc toward the center hole.  This is done with a flicking motion, not a pushing one.

The first player tries to shoot into the center, 20-point hole.  If his disc does go in the hole, it is put on the side to be added to the score at the end of the game.  If the first player's disc doesn't go into the center hole, the second player must aim with the intent to push the first player's piece into the center hole.

If the first disc isn't touched during this shot, then both players' discs are removed from the board and placed in the ditch.  If a disc being  played or a disc already on the board lands on a shooting line, both discs are taken out of play and placed in the ditch or gutter.  Play continues in this fashion until all of the discs have been used and the round is over.

A combination shot in Crokinole is called a carom.  This is when a disc bounces off of a post or another disc.

At the end of each round, each player adds up his score; remember, discs that landed in the center hole are worth 20 points and discs that ended in the other circles are added according to the scoring state above.  Any discs that land on a line are added in at the outer circle's point value.  Pieces in the ditch aren't worth any points.  After both players or teams have added all their points, the lesser total is subtracted from the higher and that amount of points goes to the team or player with the higher score.  Rounds are continued in this fashion until one team reaches a predetermined point value to win.